Melissa Muse's Story
I read that some people want to connect to art by better connecting to the artist. That makes a lot of sense to me. So for those that want to see where the art really comes from, here is a bit about me. There are lots of photos because although I'm a very verbal person, I am also a very visual person. Go figure, LOL! My path to becoming a painter was anything but a straight line.
Once upon a time there was born a little hippy child full of great wonder and magic. She loved dancing, singing, writing stories, drawing and playing pretend. Many found her light irritating and tried to squash her. They gave her a stutter but they didn't quite put out her light. As she grew up, she found that the secret to not disappearing into the mundane world was to hang onto her imagination.
To that end, she found her way into a performing arts school and spent as much free time as she could at places like Renaissance Festivals and pagan camp outs. She loved designing and making her own costumes and characters. She followed her dreams to California by way of New Mexico and West Texas. She meandered her way across the country like a wild wind blowing through 35 moves in a six year period. Eventually she found her way to Hollywood where she discovered it was way more fun to do makeup and special effects than it was to act. She saw lots of cool places and met many amazing people. But that chapter came to an end and she returned to Texas to start all over again.
The next chapter found her looking for a way to give back and find a deeper purpose in her life. She joined the National Guard where she ended up serving full time/active duty for 9 years before her body could take no more. During that time she finally achieved her goal of learning to fly by taking up skydiving. Not content with mastering the element of air, she then took aim at the element of fire. She took great delight learning the art of fire dancing/spinning. She did many things and saw many places during this chapter, but it too came to an end.
She finally decided it was time to make some babies before she grew too old. This chapter taught her many lessons in patience and sacrifice and the deepest form of love. She tried many things to keep her creativity flowing. She ran a hand dyed yarn and Tunisian crochet business for 8 years called Family Pendragon Yarn, she raised rare breed chickens with over 200 birds whose names she knew, she did hand painted dolls that made her children and others smile, but in the end this chapter too had to end so that the next could begin. It ended in medical debt, bankruptcy, and losing everything she had known. But she knew it was always darkest before the dawn.
And so the sun did indeed come up again for her and her kiddos. This time it came up in Kerrville, Texas where she had the benefit of family support. She had several years of greater and greater trials by fire. But she survived and held onto her light. When she finally emerged out the other side of the seemingly endless crisis she had finally found her way back to her path as an artist. She started by buying and converting a cool hippy van. Then she was absorbed by the local artist community which nurtured her passions. She began painting like a wild fire spending 3400 hours painting in 2022. She started with acrylic and did her best to master it. Then in 2023 she met the most amazing person ever to cross her path. He inspired her to start painting in oil, encouraged her to make bold moves in her life and career, and gave her the greatest love she had ever known. Now with a true partner in life she glows like never before and the creativity never ceases.
To that end, she found her way into a performing arts school and spent as much free time as she could at places like Renaissance Festivals and pagan camp outs. She loved designing and making her own costumes and characters. She followed her dreams to California by way of New Mexico and West Texas. She meandered her way across the country like a wild wind blowing through 35 moves in a six year period. Eventually she found her way to Hollywood where she discovered it was way more fun to do makeup and special effects than it was to act. She saw lots of cool places and met many amazing people. But that chapter came to an end and she returned to Texas to start all over again.
The next chapter found her looking for a way to give back and find a deeper purpose in her life. She joined the National Guard where she ended up serving full time/active duty for 9 years before her body could take no more. During that time she finally achieved her goal of learning to fly by taking up skydiving. Not content with mastering the element of air, she then took aim at the element of fire. She took great delight learning the art of fire dancing/spinning. She did many things and saw many places during this chapter, but it too came to an end.
She finally decided it was time to make some babies before she grew too old. This chapter taught her many lessons in patience and sacrifice and the deepest form of love. She tried many things to keep her creativity flowing. She ran a hand dyed yarn and Tunisian crochet business for 8 years called Family Pendragon Yarn, she raised rare breed chickens with over 200 birds whose names she knew, she did hand painted dolls that made her children and others smile, but in the end this chapter too had to end so that the next could begin. It ended in medical debt, bankruptcy, and losing everything she had known. But she knew it was always darkest before the dawn.
And so the sun did indeed come up again for her and her kiddos. This time it came up in Kerrville, Texas where she had the benefit of family support. She had several years of greater and greater trials by fire. But she survived and held onto her light. When she finally emerged out the other side of the seemingly endless crisis she had finally found her way back to her path as an artist. She started by buying and converting a cool hippy van. Then she was absorbed by the local artist community which nurtured her passions. She began painting like a wild fire spending 3400 hours painting in 2022. She started with acrylic and did her best to master it. Then in 2023 she met the most amazing person ever to cross her path. He inspired her to start painting in oil, encouraged her to make bold moves in her life and career, and gave her the greatest love she had ever known. Now with a true partner in life she glows like never before and the creativity never ceases.
Kerrville TX
